Rotary brush back



May 2, 1939. .1. SASSANO ROTARY BRUSH BACK Filed Aug. 3, 1937 INVEN TOR T NEY Patented May 2, 1939 PATENT OFFICE ROTARY BRUSH BACK o;

Joseph Sassano, Yonkers, N. Y.

Application August 3,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to brushes of the type used for cleaning floors or their coverings and motor driven in a generally horizontal plane with liquid being supplied to the brush so that it may pass through the back of the brush to the bristles and floor and has for its object to provide a better and more eflicient device of this sort. Another object is to facilitate the passage of liquid to the bristles.

Many suggestions have been made for arranging bristles and perforations in a brush back in an effort to obtain a substantially uniform distribution of liquid through the back to all the bristles. None of those suggestions have, so far as is known, been adaptedto accomplish their intended purpose because the designers of such brushes have apparently failed to realize the value of centrifugal force and the fact that it is substantially greater than gravity. In fact it is so much greater than gravity that a demonstration with one brush showed no liquid coming through to the bristles as intended. In this instance centrifugal force threw the water to the peripheral edge of the brush back.

According to the present invention the liquid is supplied to inner holes in the brush where centrifugal force is a minimum. Much of the liquid here is thrown out to a peripheral edge flange. From this edge a baffle is shaped to direct some of the liquid inwardly in much the same way that moving liquid may be forced up an incline against gravity. In this way more of the liquid is directed through perforations to the bristles and floor when the brush is rotating at commercial and customary speeds of 175 R. P. M. and thereabouts.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a brush head embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section along the modified type of battle.

The brush back I is provided with a channel H, adjacent the inner edge of the back and to which water or other cleaning liquid may be supplied in ways familiar to the art so that the liquid may be delivered into the channel I I. Elongated perforations l2 are provided in the bottom of the channel ll, so that some of the cleaning liquid may fall by gravity through the perforations I2 on to the floor or carpet being cleaned and then be swept round by the rotating brush. These channels II have end walls l3 shortening their length, causing a substantial amount of the cleaning liquid to be thrown off by centrifugal force. 55 Brushes of the type illustrated generally operate 1937, Serial No. 157,118

(Cl. 15-180) of:

between about 150 to 200 R. P. M. and the preferred speed is about 175 R. P. M. At this speed centrifugal force is strong enough in the channel 5 I to cause a great deal of the cleaning liquid to be thrown out and even in this inner channel 5 centrifugal force is believed to be stronger than gravity with the result that not a very great amount of water will go through the large perforations l2. H

The particles of cleaning liquid thrown out by centrifugal force from the outer wall of the channel II will impinge upon either the peripheral flange M or one of the curved bafiles l5. The liquid which impinges upon the peripheral flange I4 is prevented from being thrown out furtherf" The back H3 rotates in such a direction that the outer end portions of the bafiles l5 lead the lagging or inner end by an amount which has been determined empirically to be about 90 degrees. The function of the baffles is to serve as an '20 incline for directing the liquid thrown against the peripheral flange, or at least some of the liquid to move up the incline or inwardly along the baffles against the action of centrifugal force. Adjacent w the inner end portions of the baffles l5 are elongated perforations i6 and I! as illustrated. The inner end of the bafiies joins the outer channel wall [8. Liquid moving inwardly along the bafiies is caused to pass through the perforations l6 and K ll to the radial portion of the brush back containing the bristles.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 the baffles 15 may each be provided with a rib or guide portion l9 for the purpose of directing a portion of the liquid downwardly throughthe perforations I 6 and another rib is for the purpose of directing the balance of the liquid downwardly through the perforations I1. As illustrated, the first rib I9 extends only about half way to the top of the baffle l5, while the latter rib extends all the way as illustrated.

A cover 20 is provided to extend inwardly from the peripheral flange M at least part way for the purpose of lessening the danger of any cleaning liquid being thrown over the top of the periphv eral flange under centrifugal action. The angular extent of the baflles l5, that is, the angular distance between their leading and lagging ends, is also preferably not as much as 360 degrees because then the shape of the baffles approaches too closely the shape of concentric Walls of the prior art which have been found objectionable. Empirically it has been discovered that the angular distance illustrated or about 90 degrees is satisfactory for the displacement between the leading and lagging ends of the baflles as shown. When the bafiles are less than degrees in angular displacement between their inner and outer ends they are not able to function satisfactorily as inclined planes to direct the moving liquid inwardly.

The bristles 23 are held in holes 22 by wires or other well known ways of fastening bristles in this art.

Among the advantages of this invention may be mentioned the provision of guide means for directing some of the water inwardly against the action of centrifugal force. Where prior art constructions seem to have failed is in appreciating the relative size and importance of centrifugal force compared to gravity. While some of the prior art brush heads neglected the importance of centrifugal force the result of their design is that little or no liquid passed through the holes in the back of the brush by gravity While the brush is rotating at usual commercial speeds. In order to get a substantial amount of cleaning liquid through the relatively small holes in many of the prior art brushes it would have been necessary to rotate the brush at a chimerically impracticably slow speed. Any brush with such a necessarily slow speed would not be successful on the market because the users of such brushes desire to have them operate conveniently and cover as much ground or floor space as is possible in a short time.

The cover 2! need not be used if not desired. While the baffles l5 in Figs. 1 and 2 are shown as being substantially upright, they may be provided with an undercut surface as shown in Fig. 3, to reduce the tendency of liquid to be thrown over the top of the ballles. One advantage of the large openings l6 and I1 is the freedom from danger that lint, nap and dirt from the floor or carpet may clog the perforations. Under the prior art constructions where comparatively small perforations were provided, this danger was more real than where relatively large openings such as those illustrated are provided.

The back illustrated is preferably constructed of metal, and in particular a non-corrosive metal such as cast aluminum is used. The ribs I9 and |9--a need not be used because the water or other cleaning liquid will be acted on by gravity to a relatively greater extent as said liquid moves inward along the bafiles and slows up in somewhat the same way that a stream of liquid moving up an incline moves slower as it rises.

In the embodiment illustrated the openings or perforations I6 and I! are shown as being wider than the walls between rows of bristles and also I claim:

1. In a machine for cleaning a floor, a brush back having a peripheral flange and shaped to discharge cleaning liquid outwardly against said flange when rotated at a speed such that centrifugal force acting on said liquid is stronger than gravity, and a bafiie inclined inwardly from said flange at an angle substantially less than forty-five degrees to a tangent to said flange at the junction of said bafile and flange whereby liquid thrown outwardly against said flange may be moved inwardly along said baffle, the back being provided with a perforation adjacent said bafile and inward of the flange through which liquid moved inwardly along said bafile may drop by gravity through said back while rotating.

2. In a machine for cleaning a floor, a brush back having a large central opening and provided with openings adjacent said central opening and large enough to allow cleaning liquid supplied to the back above said openings to pass through the brush back by gravity, a peripheral flange adapted to receive some of the cleaning liquid thrown out by centrifugal force from adjacent said central opening when the back is rotated in a substantially horizontal plane at a speed such that centrifugal force acting on the liquid supplied to the brush is substantially stronger than gravity, and a b-afile extending from said peripheral flange inwardly to direct some of the liquid from said flange inwardly against the action of centrifugal force, the back being perforate adjacent said baffle and inwardly of said flange and' said bafile sloping inwardly from a tangent to said flange at the junction of said flange and baflle at an angle less than forty-five degrees whereby some of the cleaning liquid thrown out by centrifugal force is caused to travel inwardly along said b aille and through a perforate portion of said back located radially between said central opening and back.

JOSEPH SASSANO.

wider than the bunched bristles in any one hole 

